Wide shallow lakes on this route.
This buoy used to be red before the sea birds used it as their outdoor loo!
November 26-28: Apalachicola: Today is another long day. We need to cover 61 land miles to reach Apalachicola. Fortunately, the weather cooperated and we were tied up just before 5:00 p.m.. The shorter days require us to utilize the daylight hours more efficiently.
Apalachicola is primarily a fishing village with many crab and shrimp boats. It also caters to tourists with many old Victorian homes, antique shops and upscale gift stores.
Memorial to our Vietnam Veterans
The plan is to stay in Apalachicola and then go to Carrabelle when we have a good weather window to cross the Gulf of Mexico. Crossing the Gulf is over 185 land miles so for slow cruisers like us that means a 20-26 hour voyage. Therefore, it is not possible to complete the trip in daylight hours. Most Loopers try to do the crossing with "buddy" boats. The waters of the Gulf are relatively shallow and can kick up waves when the wind blows over 15 knots. This can make for a very uncomfortable and potentially dangerous trip.
There were about a dozen Loopers waiting to make the short trip to Carrabelle so we held frequent powwows to discuss the weather and Gulf crossing strategy. We divided ourselves into two groups: the Swans (the slower boats like us) and the Eagles (the faster boats).
The weather was rainy, cold and windy for two days so everyone stayed put in Apalachicola only venturing out to buy a few groceries and browse around the town between rain showers.
November 29: A good weather day saw everyone vacating Apalachicola for Carrabelle. The Moorings Marina in Carrabelle is the home to Buddy. Buddy is known as the local expert on the weather conditions of the Gulf and has been helping Loopers cross the Gulf safely for many years. After arriving in Carabelle, Buddy informed everyone that he would make his recommendation at 6:00 a.m. the following morning based on the latest weather information.
The Swans and the Eagles met that evening to discuss strategy. We decided to team up with Southern Belle which is Captained by Kerm. The most popular route is to leave from Carrabelle and head for Tarpon Springs. However, Captain Kerm is heading for his home port of Hudson. This route is about 4 hours shorter and Kerm has the advantage of local knowledge.
November 30: D-Day: According to Buddy, the day would be okay for a crossing but the weather is predicted to turn bad and it might be at least another week before another opportunity presented itself. So to action stations: batten down the hatches (and anything else that can move!) and prepare to leave. The trio of Southern Belle, Passport & The Duddon Pilot departed at 8:00 a.m. under cloudy skies.
Per Buddy's recommendation, our plan is to cross over to the eastern side of the Gulf, then turn south and stay about 20 to 30 miles off shore in 30-40 foot waters to avoid the majority of the crab pots which litter the Gulf closer to shore. Lead by Captain Kerm, we will turn into Hudson in a well marked channel.
The trip during the daylight hours was uneventful. Seas were a little rough but nothing too bad. With darkness, however, the wind picked up. According to one Looper estimate (Muddy Waters), "the wind was clocking in at a near-steady 25 knots, with higher gusts throughout the night. The chop from the Northeast wind combined with the swell made for a washing machine effect from both stern quarters. Just from the movement of the boat we guessed waves in the 6-10 range. With no moon or stars out, we could not verify this as we could not see anything. "
We just stuck close to Southern Belle as Kerm's was the only boat that had a spotlight. He was absolutely terrific and saved our bacon by calling out the location of crab pots as he saw them.
We took turns at the helm and had one hour on and one off for 8 hours. It was hard work fighting the waves and trying to stay on course. We could not use the autopilot as it was not working correctly and frankly the seas were too rough.
Finally, at 3:00 a.m. we arrived at the point where we would turn into the passage to Hudson. Then things really got interesting. Following Southern Belle, we made our way through increasingly shallow waters to the marked channel into the Port Hudson Marina. The marked channel is only about 50 feet wide and the combination of current and strong wind made for a white knuckle ride into the marina.
Well, thanks to Kerm we made it without hitting any crab pots or anything else...exhausted but glad to be back on Terra Firma. A tired crew met on our boat to celebrate Southern Belle's Loop completion and then we all hit the sack for some much needed shuteye.
December 1: We roused ourselves around noon, had a huge breakfast/lunch and made plans for a celebratory dinner for Southern Belle. The next day was devoted to cleaning the boat and provisioning. If the weather cooperates, we may leave for Clearwater tomorrow.
The Swans and the Eagles met that evening to discuss strategy. We decided to team up with Southern Belle which is Captained by Kerm. The most popular route is to leave from Carrabelle and head for Tarpon Springs. However, Captain Kerm is heading for his home port of Hudson. This route is about 4 hours shorter and Kerm has the advantage of local knowledge.
November 30: D-Day: According to Buddy, the day would be okay for a crossing but the weather is predicted to turn bad and it might be at least another week before another opportunity presented itself. So to action stations: batten down the hatches (and anything else that can move!) and prepare to leave. The trio of Southern Belle, Passport & The Duddon Pilot departed at 8:00 a.m. under cloudy skies.
Per Buddy's recommendation, our plan is to cross over to the eastern side of the Gulf, then turn south and stay about 20 to 30 miles off shore in 30-40 foot waters to avoid the majority of the crab pots which litter the Gulf closer to shore. Lead by Captain Kerm, we will turn into Hudson in a well marked channel.
The trip during the daylight hours was uneventful. Seas were a little rough but nothing too bad. With darkness, however, the wind picked up. According to one Looper estimate (Muddy Waters), "the wind was clocking in at a near-steady 25 knots, with higher gusts throughout the night. The chop from the Northeast wind combined with the swell made for a washing machine effect from both stern quarters. Just from the movement of the boat we guessed waves in the 6-10 range. With no moon or stars out, we could not verify this as we could not see anything. "
We just stuck close to Southern Belle as Kerm's was the only boat that had a spotlight. He was absolutely terrific and saved our bacon by calling out the location of crab pots as he saw them.
We took turns at the helm and had one hour on and one off for 8 hours. It was hard work fighting the waves and trying to stay on course. We could not use the autopilot as it was not working correctly and frankly the seas were too rough.
Finally, at 3:00 a.m. we arrived at the point where we would turn into the passage to Hudson. Then things really got interesting. Following Southern Belle, we made our way through increasingly shallow waters to the marked channel into the Port Hudson Marina. The marked channel is only about 50 feet wide and the combination of current and strong wind made for a white knuckle ride into the marina.
Well, thanks to Kerm we made it without hitting any crab pots or anything else...exhausted but glad to be back on Terra Firma. A tired crew met on our boat to celebrate Southern Belle's Loop completion and then we all hit the sack for some much needed shuteye.
December 1: We roused ourselves around noon, had a huge breakfast/lunch and made plans for a celebratory dinner for Southern Belle. The next day was devoted to cleaning the boat and provisioning. If the weather cooperates, we may leave for Clearwater tomorrow.
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